Replying to LO28350 --
Dear HC, Fred and all in this list,
Firstly, i'll like to thank HC for helping me post my question to this list
and his reply to Fred. Also thank Fred for his interest to the post.
I am the person who had contacted HC from the back-channel on the
above-mentioned subject. After reading all the posts in this list, I now
believe that to learn, i have to step my first step into the open.
> Dear Fred,
>
> Thanks for reminding. In fact, "who are we" is a very difficult question
> but it might not be relavant here. The question came from Singapore . I
> don't think the specific organizations limit our "imagination".
>
> Hanching Chumg
> Taiwan
>
> I'll visit China monthly for some kind of LO project, not for military
> purpose.
>
> Fred Nickols wrote
>
> > Whose military?
Being in a regimental environment i.e. in the Army, i personally find it
very difficult to implement or inculcate the culture of LO. As Sue Jones
had mentioned in her book, "Developing a learning culture", a top-down
hierarchical working structural had serveral characteristics. It:
- Separates jobs into simple mindless, unskilled or low skill repetitive
tasks.
- Does not expect or require (the majority of) employees to think.
- Gives little or no responsibility to employees.
- Expects employees just to turn up on time and precisely follow
instructions like robots.
- Pays managers -- the experts, the people with the brains who know
everything -- to be in authority and do the thinking.
- Uses managers to supervise employees autocratically and dictatorially,
i.e. come up with ideas, deal with problems, make the decisions, instruct,
and order.
Especially when mine is a conscription army, difficulties become even more
complex when motivation of the soldiers conscripted is even harder to
manage.
With the recent move by the top management to embrace LO into our current
culture, there're alot of talk about it. So are the resistance and
barriers to it. Being a development officer in my organisation, i am
required and also for my personal knowledge, wish to know more about LO,
why many are talking about it, which companies or armies have implement it
and its outcomes and what can i learn from them to benefit my organisation
and myself.
But I am still quite confused on the term LO, whether is it an end-state,
a culture or the process we should be more concern with? I had read works
by Richard Karash and other authors and i personally believes that LO is
more Process-Oriented than Result-Oriented, though this belief of mine
will not be welcomed in my organisation. Am i at the correct start-state?
Pls advise.
Your humble and obedient soldier,
Leroy Ang
Singapore
[Host's Note: Leroy, welcome to the LO dialogue! ..Rick]
--"Leroy and Liyun" <leyun@singnet.com.sg>
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